top
Peninsula
Peninsula
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Regions
Indybay Regions North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area California United States International Americas Haiti Iraq Palestine Afghanistan
Topics
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature

Wells Fargo Breaks Promise to East Palo Alto Tenants

by R. Stevens
Tenants and community supporters said that despite assurances that the bank would consider renters' needs, Wells Fargo is poised to sell rent-controlled housing to “Vulture Investor” Sam Zell. A protest that included a march from E. Palo Alto to downtown Palo Alto ended with a raucous rally at a Wells Fargo Bank branch on Hamilton Ave.
640_zellmatthewgu.jpg
“Don’t Sell To Zell!” shouted East Palo Alto tenants and their supporters, as they rallied on Monday in front of a Wells Fargo branch in downtown Palo Alto. The demonstrators were protesting Wells Fargo’s pending arrangement with investment group Equity Residential, of which Sam Zell is the founder and chairman.

The proposed sale would transfer ownership of more than half of the rent-controlled housing in East Palo Alto, formerly owned by Page Mill Properties. East Palo Alto is one of the few affordable communities on the Peninsula and is home to many people of color. “The era of Page Mill Properties was a disaster for low-income tenants. No one wants to repeat that fiasco with Zell’s investment group,” stated Gaby Gonzalez, Youth United for Community Action, and a tenant at the Page Mill Properties.

Sam Zell of Equity Residential was described in a 1995 New York Times article as “a classic vulture investor.” Mr. Zell is a well-known opponent of rent control. His company, Equity LifeStyle, has sued multiple California cities to invalidate local rent control laws, and funded a statewide ballot measure to end rent control in California.

Not long ago, Wells Fargo made a stated commitment to involve the community in transitioning the property to new ownership. Despite this commitment, the bank is ready to make the sale to Zell. “We are shocked that Wells Fargo, which claims to respect the community, would choose to sell East Palo Alto to a vulture like Zell. Wells should put this deal on hold and re-engage with the community to find responsible buyers with plans to preserve this rent-controlled housing,” stated Shirley Gibson of Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County.

During Monday's rally two representatives of local organizations supporting tenants delivered a letter of demands to the bank, while cheers rose in front of the building. One protester went into the bank and closed her account with Wells Fargo, telling them she could no longer justify being a customer of a bank that did not show concern for the community.

Loud and proud at the event were members of Youth United for Community Action, Nuestra Casa, and the Raging Grannies. Other groups sponsoring the action included: Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto; East Palo Alto CANDO; Fair Rent Coalition; Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County: Human Investment Project, Inc. (Hip Housing, Inc.); Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County; and Tenants Together.


§Anthony holds enlarged copy of letter of demands
by R. Stevens
640_zelltoprgs.jpg
Later Antony of YUCA and a person of faith together took their demands into the bank.
§Don't Sell--RENOVATE
by R. Stevens
640_zellbarbbgu.jpg
§SHOUTING
by R. Stevens
640_zellmomsshout.jpg
§Erica closed her account
by R. Stevens
640_zellericanogu.jpg
She said when she went into the bank during the rally to close her account, the employees were not happy about the protest
§Grannies led chants and songs
by R. Stevens
640_zellgrnsgu.jpg
§Later Anthony came out and explained
by R. Stevens
640_zellanthonyout.jpg
The banksters were "polite" but made no commitment to considering the demands. Anthony said, "the fight has just begun".
§3 of 9 Grannies stood in front
by R. Stevens
640_zell3grnsinfront.jpg
§A Roof for Everyone...Para TODOS
by R. Stevens
640_zellparatodos.jpg
§Grannies Never Forget
by R. Stevens
640_zellgrnssigngu.jpg
§So they led angry chants
by R. Stevens
640_zellmbwagsbest.jpg
Add Your Comments
Listed below are the latest comments about this post.
These comments are submitted anonymously by website visitors.
TITLE
AUTHOR
DATE
prole
Sun, Aug 28, 2011 12:58PM
Mei Bo Chan
Sun, Aug 28, 2011 3:40AM
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$110.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network